


To Hell and Back (for You)

by raven_with_a_writing_desk



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Kidnapping, M/M, Minor Character Death, Season 3a, Slow Build, Torture, pain transfer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-16
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-04 17:46:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4147029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raven_with_a_writing_desk/pseuds/raven_with_a_writing_desk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Stiles gets taken by the Alphas, the Hale Pack does whatever it takes to get him back before it's too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“McCall! What did I just say?”

Scott jumped and turned to face Mr. Harris, who was glaring at him and Stiles from the front of the class.

“Uh… That I need to shut up and pay attention?”

Harris continued to glare at him while the rest of the class tried to stifle their giggles. “Wrong. Maybe having detention after school will help you concentrate,” he said, turning back to the chalkboard and continuing his lecture.

“Dude, what the hell was that? I was the one actually talking and he didn’t even look at me,” Stiles whispered from his seat beside Scott.

“I dunno. Maybe he’s still pissed at me for skipping that test last week,” Scott muttered back, pretending to write notes. “But now you have to get yourself put in detention, too. The twins are still making threats about you, and I saw Kali snooping around here the other day.”

“Great. Well, I’ve got twenty minutes until school’s over, so I guess I’ve gotta make it fast, huh?”

Five minutes later, class was interrupted again when a wad of paper hit Harris square in the back of the head. “Who threw that?” He demanded, staring down the students.

Every hand in the class went up, all of them pointing to the back of the room where Stiles and Scott were sitting, both trying to look innocent as Scott pointed at Stiles.

Glancing between the two, Mr. Harris stalked towards them, stopping in from of Scott’s desk. “Did you just throw that paper at me and are now blaming it on Stilinski, McCall?” Harris ground out, looking like he was going to start throwing things himself.

“No, it wasn’t me!” Scott complained.

“So, first you talk during my lesson, next you throw paper at me, and now you’re lying to my face? How about I give you detention tomorrow as well. It might actually teach you a lesson,” Harris said, turning and walking back to the front of the class.

“But –“

“Another word and I’ll have you suspended!”

Staring at his teacher in disbelief for a moment, Scott slumped back in his chair, letting out a low groan. “Why the hell did he blame me for that?”

“Maybe he’s just _really_ pissed at you for missing that test last week,” Stiles answered, glancing at his friend.

“Well, now what do we do?”

“Go to plan B. Swear at him,” Stiles said, ignoring the horrified look that crossed Scott’s face. The last time either of them had sworn at Harris, it had ended with detention for two weeks and they had had to write a four-page paper on why it was inappropriate.

Turning to face the front of the room, Stiles steeled his nerves and called out, “hey jackass! Can I go to the bathroom?”

There was a collective gasp from every single person in the room and everything went deadly quiet. After standing there frozen for a second, Harris turned slowly, staring directly at Stiles.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, ‘hey jackass, can I go to the bathroom,’” Stiles said, resisting the urge to hide under his desk.

“That is completely inappropriate to say to a teacher, Stilinski. I’m letting you off with a warning this time, but if it happens again, you will be suspended.”

Glancing around the room once more, Harris turned back to the board and, ignoring the whispers breaking out behind him, continued writing.

“Dude, what the _hell_ is going on today?!” Scotts whispered, his voice sounding slightly panicky.

“I have no idea. But I don’t know what else to do. Short of starting a fight in the middle of class, I don’t think anything else would work. And I’ll probably just end up suspended or expelled for that,” Stiles muttered back, starting to feel his own panic rise. If he didn’t get into detention with Scott, he’d have to go home alone. And with the amount the twins had been threatening him over the past few days, he highly doubted he’d make it far before they confronted him.

“Maybe Isaac or Allison is free? Try texting them,” Scott said, copying something off the board.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll do that,” Stiles replied, digging out his phone.

Fifteen minutes later, as he and Scott were packing up their bags, he finally heard from both of them, plus Lydia and Boyd who he’d asked on a whim. All of them were busy.

“What do you mean they’re all busy,” Scott whisper-screamed, making a couple of their classmates turn to look at them.

“Well, Boyd isn’t answering his phone, so I don’t know what’s happening there. Isaac and Allison are apparently also in detention, and Lydia said she had plans but wouldn't specify.” Stiles glanced up to see his own panic mirrored on Scott’s face.

“So now what do we do,” Scott asked, shouldering his bag and heading out of the room.

“Not a clue. I can’t exactly go interrupt classes or anything now that school’s over, and doing something more drastic would probably land me with a suspension, not detention. We, my friend, are up shit’s creek.”

“This is insane. How did Harris not give you detention,” Scott demanded as they made their way through the sea of students to the main doors.

“Not a clue. But I’m just going to leave now, and hope I manage to go unnoticed and get home before they realize you’re not with me. Once I’m there, I’m safe. Thank god for mountain ash,” Stiles said, clapping Scott on the shoulder before turning and heading to the parking lot.

“Good luck, Stiles. Call me if anything happens.”

“You know I will, Scotty.”

-

Stiles managed to get all the way to his car without seeing either of the Alpha twins. Taking it as a good sign, he let out a sigh of relief as he opened the driver side door and threw his bag across to the passenger seat before following it inside. Turning on the engine, he was just about to put the car in reverse when the passenger door swung open and Ethan climbed in, grabbing Stiles’ hand before he could so much as undo his seatbelt.

“Try anything, and I’ll break your wrist. Cooperate, and you can get through this unscathed. Understood?”

When Stiles refused to answer, preferring to glare at the wolf instead, Ethan began applying more pressure until Stiles had to twist his body to relieve the pain.

“Yes, Jesus! I understand, now let go!” Stiles nearly shouted, feeling tears prick his eyes at the pain.

Releasing his hand, Ethan leaned back in his seat, watching as Stiles rubbed angrily at his wrist.

“What the hell do you want,” Stiles asked, refusing to meet the other boy’s eyes.

“Just drive. I’ll direct you.”

Backing out of his spot and turning, Stiles glanced over, waiting for Ethan to direct him further.

“Turn left. We’ll be following this road for a while.”

Turning into traffic, Stiles pursed his lips in thought before saying, “how did you know that I was alone today? That attack definitely wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment idea, so you must’ve –.“ Stopping abruptly, his face blanched as he realized what had happened.

“You arranged for the others to all be in detention or otherwise occupied, didn’t you?” He asked, though he already knew the answer.

“Of course. How else could we have gotten you on your own? That pack of yours is very… persistent when it comes to protecting you,” Ethan said, smirking at the way Stiles stiffened at the mention of him needing protection.

“So how did you do it? Bribe a bunch of the teachers? Blackmail them?”

“We only needed to convince Harris. Once he realized the information we had on him, he was more than willing to comply.”

“And what information do you have that the police don’t already know?” Stiles asked, his curiosity winning out over anything else.

“Turn right at the next set of lights. We have information about his role in the Hale fire.”

“But the police already know he told Kate –“

“He was involved further than that. He’s the one who let the arsonists into the school and gave them the materials to start the fire.”

Stiles glanced at Ethan at that, as if trying to figure out if he was telling the truth. Seemingly satisfied with whatever he found, he turned back to the road and didn’t ask any more questions.

-

The rest of the drive passed in silence, Ethan occasionally giving directions until they turned onto a street in the new district being built at the edge of town.

“What, are you guys squatting now? Couldn’t afford to keep living in your apartment?” Stiles asked as they drove by the empty houses.

“Go into the driveway of the next house and pull into the garage. And to answer your question, no. It’s just somewhere no one will be able to find you until we want them to,” Ethan replied, undoing his seatbelt as Stiles came to a halt inside the garage of the house the Alpha pack was currently occupying. Getting out of the car he went around to the driver’s side and herded Stiles through the side door into the main house.

Entering the house, Stiles glanced around, taking in the details just like his dad had always told him to do in situations like this. He noted the small hallway he was standing in that led from the front door straight back to the kitchen, with the living room and two other doors leading off it, plus a staircase leading upwards directly in front of him, and a doorway with a set of stairs leading down cut into the side.

“This way,” Ethan said, tugging Stiles’ elbow and leading him towards the living room, where Kali and Deucalion sat, seemingly in the middle of a conversation.

“Ah, Stiles! So good of you to join us,” Deucalion said, looking up at the sound of the approaching footsteps.

“Yeah, ‘cause you gave me so much choice.”

“Mm, yes, sorry about that but you’re Pack can be very stubborn when they want to be, and didn’t leave us any other options.” Turning to Ethan who stood behind Stiles, he said, “now take him downstairs and keep an eye on him until I get there.”

“What the hell do you want, Deucalion? ‘Cause I can promise you won’t get anything from me,” Stiles said, shrugging out of Ethan’s grip.

“We’ll see about that,” Deucalion replied with an almost apologetic look on his face before Ethan dragged Stiles into the basement to wait.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hale Pack tries to figure out where the Alphas are keeping Stiles and Scott makes a difficult decision. Stiles finds out why the Alphas want him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a bit of torture in this chapter, right at the end. You can skip it if you want but there's nothing gruesome or overly violent.
> 
> For those who've read the first chapter already, I did make one small change so the story could flow better. Just where Stiles was talking about Lydia being busy, I changed it to 'she wouldn't give him any details about her plans'. Trust me, it fits better.

Scott glanced up at the sound of approaching footsteps and, giving Allison and Isaac a quick smile, went back to texting Stiles.

“Hey, Scott. Where’s Stiles,” Allison asked, taking a seat while Isaac sat down on Scott’s other side.

“He couldn’t get into detention,” Scott replied, sending the text and facing her.

“Seriously?” Isaac asked, raising his eyebrows in disbelief. “Isn’t he in here every other day?”

“Well not quite that often. And he tried, but every time he did something he was either let off with a warning or I was blamed. That’s why he texted you guys, he was looking for someone to go home with.”

“I would’ve done it, but Harris gave Isaac and I detention for disrupting his class. We were passing by his room and he came out and yelled at us. Apparently we were being loud even though we weren’t even talking. He gave us detention so we could ‘learn to behave properly.’”

“Harris was the one who gave you guys detention?” Scott asked, realization dawning.

“Yeah. Why?”

“He’s the one who sent me here. And the one who wouldn’t put Stiles in detention, meaning Stiles had to go home by himself.”

“You don’t think it was done on purpose, do you,” Allison asked, frowning at Scott. “Besides, what about Lydia or Boyd? They’re not here, are they with him?”

“Stiles texted Lydia as well. Apparently she and Aiden made plans, and Boyd didn’t answer his phone.”

“So all of us –“

“That’s enough talking. You’re not here to socialize, you’re here to be punished,” Harris said as he walked in, cutting Allison off mid-sentence. “There are lots of things that need to be done, and only an hour to do them in, so let’s get started.”

“Send a text to Derek, see if he and Cora can find Stiles,” Allison murmured, catching Scott’s almost imperceptible nod that he had heard her.

An hour later, Scott was standing by the main doors waiting for Allison and Isaac to join him.

“Pack meeting at the loft, huh? So no sign of Stiles?” Isaac asked as he walked up, Allison right behind him.

“That’s what Derek told me,” Scott responded, pushing open the doors and heading to where his bike was parked. “Apparently he and Cora called Stiles, and when there was no answer they went looking for him. Stiles wasn’t at his house, the police station, or anywhere else they looked,” Scott said, grabbing his keys and turning on his bike as Isaac got on behind him. “See you there,” he said to Allison before turning and heading out of the parking lot.

-

Climbing the stairs to the loft, Scott was surprised to hear what sounded like Lydia’s voice coming from inside. Opening the door, he took in the sight of Lydia, Boyd, Cora, Derek, and Allison sitting around the coffee table together.

“Took you long enough to get here,” Allison said, making room for Scott on the couch while Isaac sat down on the ottoman.

“Sorry we’re not all crazy drivers like you,” Scott said before turning towards Boyd. “Why weren’t you answering your phone earlier? Stiles said he couldn’t get ahold of you,” Scott continued, glaring at the other boy.

“Harris confiscated my phone during third period. Told me I could get it back after school ended, and when I responded to Stiles’ texts, he didn’t answer.”

“So they must have convinced Harris to help them,” Allison interrupted, looking at Scott. “He put the three of us in detention, took your phone, and you said he wouldn’t put Stiles in detention, right Scott?”

“Yeah,” Scott replied. “And trust me, Stiles tried. He even swore at Harris and nothing happened. But what about you, Lydia? You said you had plans or something?”

“I was with Aiden. He wanted help studying for that chemistry test on Friday. Or at least that was his excuse. When Allison texted me about the Pack meeting, I realized what was going on so I trapped Aiden in a ring of mountain ash, and here I am.”  
“Well, thank god for mountain ash,” Scott muttered. “Did you find anything, Derek?” He asked, facing the Alpha.

Derek looked up from where he’d been staring at the floor, a look of anguish on his face. “Nothing. Wherever they’ve taken him, the Alphas have done a good job hiding him. We couldn’t even scent him past the school parking lot. And he’s not in their apartment. I spoke to Chris, he said the Alphas left a few days ago and haven’t returned since. I also called Deaton and asked if he’s heard anything. He said no, but he’d check with his sister and let me know,” he said.

“We’ll find him, Derek,” Lydia said gently from beside him.

“Is there anyone else we can talk to? Anyone who might know something,” Scott asked, trying to stay positive.

Silence followed the question as everyone glanced away, no one wanting to say what was on all of their minds.

Finally, Allison broke the silence. “We could ask the Sheriff.”

“No.”

“Scott, come –“

“I said no. You guys know Stiles did everything he could to stop his dad from finding out about any of this. You know we can’t betray him, even now,” Scott said.

“What else can we do? Sit here with our thumbs up our asses and hope the Alphas just let Stiles go,” Cora asked, glaring at Scott.

“We’ll think of something else. But we can _not_ go to his father.”

“And what about the time we waste thinking of a different plan? By the time we have something, who knows what sort of state Stiles will be in. What if they’re torturing him? Or just kill him? How do you think his dad will feel then, regardless if he knows about us,” Derek demanded.

Scott hesitated, thinking about that. He didn’t want to betray Stiles’ trust, but he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if Stiles got hurt or killed because he was too stubborn. He looked around at the other six Pack members sitting there with him.

_We’ve already lost too many. We can’t lose anymore._

Making up his mind, he sat up and made eye contact with them all, one at a time. “Fine. We’ll look at our other leads first, though. We get Chris in here, we talk to Deaton again, hell, we’ll call _Peter_ if we have to. After that, if we haven’t found anything, we talk to the Sheriff. Agreed?”

“What about Aiden?” Lydia asked, playing with a strand of hair. “He might still be in that ring of mountain ash if Ms. Morrell hasn’t gotten there first.”

“We shouldn’t risk it. He’s probably called his pack and they could have a trap there waiting for us,” Allison replied. “I’ll call my dad, ask him to come over. Derek, call Deaton, see what he’s got. Cora –“

“I’ll call Peter, see if he knows anything,” Cora said, cutting Allison off.

“Okay. And Scott, you figure out how to tell the Sheriff his son is missing in case this doesn’t pan out.”

“Awesome,” Scott muttered, sinking down in his seat.

As Cora, Derek, and Allison pulled out their phones and started walking away to make their calls, Isaac, Boyd, and Lydia came over and sat down next to Scott on the couch.

“Do you really think it’s better to leave the Sheriff out of this, Scott? I mean, not only is he Stiles’ dad and has a right to know, but he also has access to a lot more information and surveillance than we do,” Isaac said from where he was perched on the arm rest.

“Yeah, I know. But Stiles has always been so stubborn about it. I mean, even back when I was first bitten and Peter locked us in the school, he refused to call his dad. He risked all our lives, including his own, just so he could keep him safe. That’s how determined he is. And to betray that, even if it is the right thing to do, goes against our entire friendship.”

“My dad’s coming over. He’ll be here in 10 minutes,” Allison said, interrupting their conversation. “Derek said he got through to Deaton, but he didn’t have any information. His sister apparently had no idea they were planning on taking Stiles. She said they haven’t been in contact with her for days.”

“Great. Has Cora gotten anywhere with Peter,” Lydia asked.

“Don’t know. They’re still talking. Derek’s gone to join the conversation,” Allison said, sitting down. Looking at Scott, she asked, “any idea what you’ll say to the Sheriff?”

“Not a clue.”

“Well, if it helps, my dad said he would go with you to talk to him.”

“Yeah, I might take him up on that. Thanks,” Scott said as Cora and Derek walked over.

“Well, that was a useless conversation,” Cora said, tossing her phone onto the coffee table and throwing herself into her chair. “Peter said he hasn’t heard anything, and when I asked he said he may or may not join us, depending on how he feels. I swear to God, he’s gotten even more insufferable since the fire. I didn’t even think it was possible.”

“Great. So now we just wait for your father to get here and hope he has something helpful to add?” Isaac asked, looking around at the group.

“I guess so. He should be here in a few minutes,” Allison said.

Ten minutes later, Scott could hear footsteps coming up the stairs and then the door slid open, revealing Chris. He entered the room, sliding the door shut behind him and walked over to where the Pack was sitting.

“So, Allison told me about the Alphas taking Stiles,” he said, dropping his bag onto the floor and leaning against the couch where his daughter was sitting.

“Yeah. Any ideas where they might’ve gone?”

“No, sorry Scott. I looked over every inch of their apartment after Derek called me, but there were no clues as to where they went. I also have a couple contacts around Beacon Hills, but none of them have heard anything, either. I’ve got them on the lookout, said they’d report back if anything changes but nothing so far.

“So I guess that means we’re going over the Sheriff’s department,” Scott said, standing up.

“Do you want me to come? It might help.”

“Yeah, thanks Chris.” Turning to the rest of the Pack, he said, “we’ll call once we’ve talked to him. Let us know if you get any new information.” And with that, the two of them left.

-

Neither of them spoke on the drive to the Sheriff’s station. Pulling up, Chris cut the engine and looked over at Scott. “You ready?”

“Nope,” Scott said, opening the door and climbing out.

Walking inside, they went over to the Sheriff’s office and knocked on the door. John Stilinski opened it, a file in hand.

“Chris. Scott. Is everything alright?”

“We need to talk to you, John. Privately,” Scott said.

Stepping back, John lets the two of them into his office before closing the door and sitting down at his desk, indicating that they do the same.

“What’s going on, Scott?”

“Well, John, it’s a long story…”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kali sat at the kitchen counter, rubbing her temples and glaring at Deucalion. “He’s been shouting like that for almost two hours now, Deucalion. I’m starting to get a migraine. Can werewolves even _get_ those?”

“I know it’s hard for you, but be patient Kali. The longer we leave him, the more likely he is to let something important slip when we finally do talk to him.”

“Well if you don’t hurry up, I might kill him before he has a chance to say anything. I should’ve gone with Ethan and Marin to find Aiden.”

“No. The more of our Pack out there, the more likely it is for the Hale Pack to catch us, and then everything will be ruined. Just be patient. But you’re right. Perhaps it is time to give the poor boy some company,” Deucalion said and stood. Taking Kali’s arm, the two of them walked towards the basement door

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hearing footsteps coming down the stairs, Stiles finally stopped shouting. He had been left in the basement for what felt like hours, tied to a chair in the middle of an empty room.

Stiles could hear someone shuffling around on the other side of the door before there was the scrape of a key in the lock and the door swung open, and Deucalion and Kali stepped into the room.

“Hello, Stiles. Sorry about the wait, some things came up,” Deucalion said, letting go of Kali who exited the room and returned a moment later with a chair.

“Right. I’m sure. So what happens now,” Stiles asked, watching Kali suspiciously as she stepped forward and placed the chair in front of Stiles. Taking Deucalion by the arm again, she helped him sit down before stepping back and leaning against the wall to watch.

“Have you ever seen a werewolf take pain from another person, Stiles?” Deucalion asked once he was seated.

“Yeah, of course. Why?”

“And do you know what happens to the pain that the wolf absorbs?” Deucalion continued, ignoring Stiles’ question.

“I dunno. I guess they experience the pain? What does this have to do with anything?”

“We’ll get to that. But yes, when a wolf takes the pain of another, they will often experience that pain themselves. It can make the process… unpleasant. However, with many years of practice, it is possible for wolves to store the pain, and either experience it slowly over time or release into another being, and let them experience it instead.” Deucalion paused, letting the information sink in.

“Now, I’m going to ask you some questions. If you answer them truthfully, this will be much easier for everyone involved. If you decide not to, I’ll show you just how hard it is to endure another person’s pain,” Deucalion said, smiling at the way Stiles’ heart rate picked up.

“First question. Does the Hale Pack have any contacts outside your father and the Argents?”

“Fuck you.”

“I had hoped you would cooperate, Stiles. Perhaps this will convince you.” Reaching out, Deucalion grabbed Stiles’ arm. Black lines appeared along his veins, making their way towards the boy and soon the room was full of the sound of Stiles’ screams.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hale Pack comes up with a plan to save Stiles. Stiles refuses to give Deucalion what he wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, another warning for torture in the chapter. Again it's at the very end and it's more violent (Stiles is actually injured here), so if you want to skip you can.

“Is this some kind of joke?” the Sheriff demanded. “Did Stiles put you up to this? I have work to get done here, and I really don’t have time for this. And you,” he continued, pointing at Chris. “You should not be encouraging this sort of behaviour.”

“John, it’s all –“

“Enough, Scott. I need you to leave so I can get back to work.”

“Show him,” Chris said, looking at Scott. “He’ll believe it if you shift.”

Scott grimaced in return, then turned back to John and concentrated on shifting. As he did, John gasped and recoiled in horror, falling out of his chair and falling to the floor.

Letting his features go back to normal, Scott waited nervously for the Sheriff to get over his shock and say something.

“What the hell was that?!”

“I told you, John. I’m a werewolf. But that’s not really the thing we need to focus on right now. We need to find Stiles.”

John got up from the floor, straightened his chair, and sat back down. “So everything you said is true? How come you didn’t tell me sooner,” he asked, apparently already over the shock and moving towards anger.

“Stiles wouldn’t let me. He was terrified that if you found out, you’d end up getting hurt because of it. But we’ve run out of options. We have no idea where he’s been taken and we were hoping that you would have some information.”

“And he was taken by an Alpha Pack? Like, literally a Pack of Alphas?”

At Scott’s nod, John slumped back in his chair and put his face in his hands. “What do they want with my son?” he asked, his voice muffled but sounding dangerously close to tears.

“To get to Derek and I. They want us to join them, so they took the one person that we both care about.” At Chris’ questioning glance, he shook his head. “You don’t have a werewolf’s senses. Trust me, it’s true even if Derek refuses to admit it. But I don’t know what they’ll do with him. So we have to move fast.”

Taking a deep breath, John sat up straight and looked between Scott and Chris. “Then we’d better get going.”

 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Derek jumped when his phone went off, having been completely absorbed in studying a map of the town for places Stiles could be.

Checking the caller ID, he immediately picked up, hoping for good news.

“Scott? What’s going on?”

“We’ve convinced the Sheriff about everything and we’re looking through all the records and files from the past few days. There’s nothing so far. Can you guys come over?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay. Are the rest of the Pack with you?”

“Boyd’s here with me. Cora’s at Peter’s, trying to convince him to help. The rest went over to the Argent’s to get weapons and see if there was anything Chris missed.”

“Okay, I’ll call them. See you soon,” Scott said before hanging up.

Putting his phone in his pocket, Derek grabbed his keys and he and Boyd ran out the door and down to his car. Derek could feel fear and adrenaline coursing through him, making him start to lose control. Pausing beside the car, he took a few deeps breaths, trying to get his emotions under control and barely managing to succeed. For the past six months or so, Stiles had been his anchor. He hadn’t even realized until the day they were paralyzed on the floor of the Sheriff’s station together, and Matt had threatened to harm Stiles. He could still remember the way his wolf had reacted, trying to tear through to the surface, only held back by the kanima’s venom. Since then, Derek had continued to develop feelings for Stiles until he meant more to Derek than just an anchor. And now all of that was being threatened, and Derek could very well lose another person he loved because of an enemy he should have seen coming. _This_ was why he had refused to ever admit his feelings for Stiles. He had been so worried about it going wrong and now, that was happening anyways.

“We’ll get him back Derek,” Boyd said from behind him and waited for Derek to nod in acknowledgement before walking around to the passenger side and slipping into the seat got in and took off towards the Sheriff’s station.

Halfway there, his phone went off again, this time from Chris calling him.

“Hey, you guys find something?” Derek asked, speeding through a yellow light.

“I think so. There’s a police report in the files about a possible group of squatters living in the new district of houses on the edge of town. There’s a description of one of them included in the file. The description matches Deucalion.”

Derek was silent for a few seconds as he digested this information. “Give me an address,” he growled, already putting on his blinker to pull a U-turn and head to that area of town.

“Derek, no. We need to have a plan and we need everybody. They’ll probably be prepared for us and how likely do you think it is that you or Stiles will come out alive if you just run in there alone? Get over here, we’ll wait for the rest of the Pack, and figure it out.”

Cursing, Derek hung up and tossed his phone into the center console before pulling back into traffic and flooring it all the way to the station.

-

Derek and Boyd walked into the station and headed straight back to the Sheriff’s office, only to be stopped by his receptionist.

“You can’t go in there,” she said, standing and putting a hand across the door. “The sheriff said no one’s allowed to disturb him.”

Derek bared his teeth at her, not caring about how menacing he looked. Every second she wasted was one less second he was working to find Stiles.

“Get out of my way.”

“Sir, please –“

“It’s alright Aubrey,” the Sheriff said, opening the door to his office. “Let them in.”

Stepping back, he let Derek and Boyd enter the office before turning back to the receptionist. “If anyone else shows up, please let them in.”

Scott was getting off his phone as they entered the office.

“The others are on their way.”

“They’re only just leaving? It’ll take them forever to get here!” Derek exclaimed, his voice slightly panicky.

“Apparently they thought they had found something but it was a false alarm. And they needed to pack the car. Allison said they’re bringing a small arsenal.”

“Just how many weapons do you have over there, Argent?” John asked, eyeing the other man suspiciously.

“Enough.”

John hesitated before nodding and having a seat behind his desk as Derek pulled up a chair and began looking through the files on his desk while Boyd leaned against the wall beside the door.

“Is this the one Chris mentioned?” He asked, holding up the top file.

At John’s nod, Derek opened it and flipped through, looking for any information that could tell him more than what Chris had said.

“So… are you a werewolf, too?” John asked, breaking the silence.

Derek glanced up and took in the Sheriff’s weary expression before nodding. “I was born one. Same with my uncle and my sister. Isaac and Boyd are as well, in case you were wondering,” he said, glancing back down at the file.

“Were you born one as well?” The Sheriff asked Boyd.

“Derek turned Isaac and I.”

“Ah.”

“I asked permission first,” Derek said continuing to skim the pages. “Warned them about all the risks.”

“ _Most_ of the risks,” Chris muttered from behind him.

“All the normal risks. It’s not my fault your father chose that week to start a werewolf killing spree and targeted my Pack.”

“Oh right, cause you had no idea –“

“Okay enough!” Scott snapped. “Jesus, can we never get through a conversation without you two bringing that up? I know it’s a sore spot for both of you, but it’s over now and nothing you say will change it. You don’t see me still complaining about what Gerard did to me, so I think you can get over it as well. Now shut up and let’s focus on getting Stiles back,” Scott finished, glaring between them.

The five of them settled into a somewhat uncomfortable silence after that as they continued looking through the different files for any other clues that could help them.

After a while, the three wolves’ heads snapped up as they listened to something neither of the humans could hear.

“Holy shit, she got him to come? How?” Scott asked, turning to Derek in confusion.

Derek just shrugged as Chris and John looked between them. “Who’s here?” John finally asked when neither of them said anything more.

“We are,” Cora said, walking into the office, Peter at her heels. “And the others are coming as well.”

“And I’ll ask again. How did you manage to convince him?” Scott asked as Allison, Lydia, and Isaac entered the office as well.

“I’m right here, you know.” Peter said indignantly. “And I can’t believe you think so lowly of me as to believe I’m not doing this out of the goodness of my heart.”

“Right, I’m sure that’s exactly what it is. You can go ahead and leave now. You’re really not wanted here,” Lydia said, crossing the room and leaning against the edge of the Sheriff’s desk.

“Oh please, I’m the smartest person in this room. How successful do you think you’ll be in getting Stiles back without my help?” Peter asked.

At Chris’ snort, he turned and stared at the hunter in amusement. “I’m sorry, Argent. Remind me how many times you’ve managed to resurrect yourself.”

“Is this a joke to you people,” the Sheriff interrupted, looking desperately around the group. “My son has been kidnapped and is suffering through God-knows-what and you’re bickering over nothing. As far as I care, anyone who can help me get my son back stays. Otherwise, get the hell out of my office.”

Snapping his mouth shut, Chris moved over to stand by Derek’s shoulder, and pulled out a map of the new district of town from the folder in the werewolf’s hands.

“Based on this file, we believe the Alphas are hiding out here. There was a police report a few days ago of a group of squatters living in one of the houses, and one of them matches Deucalion’s description. John, can you bring up the house on Google Maps so we can see the layout.”

Once a picture of the house and area around it had been pulled up, Chris continued. “All the other houses on the block are empty right now. That gives us more space to fight. We can set up snipers as well. John and Allison, you two can do that.”

“Not a chance. That’s my kid in there, I’m going in,” John replied.

“You’ve never fought a werewolf, John.”

“I have tons of experience –“

“Fighting humans, yes. But werewolves are much deadlier than humans. They’re much stronger, and _much_ faster. And Alphas are even worse. You don’t have the reflexes or the knowledge to be able to fight them. But we need people keeping an eye on the house, stopping anyone who tries to escape.”

“No. I need to help Stiles.”

Suddenly there was a blur of movement at John’s peripheral and a clawed hand was wrapped around his throat. John and the rest of the group jumped, but none of them moved as the person holding John’s throat spoke.

“Do you understand how much faster we are now?” Peter asked as he released the Sheriff and stepped back. “I’m only a Beta, I don’t have the speed the Alphas do. And since they’re a Pack they’re even faster. You wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Fine.” John relented, rubbing his throat. “But if we start losing the fight, I’m coming in.”

“Fine,” Chris echoed.

“Well I’m coming in.” Allison said, glaring at her father defiantly.

“No way. It’s too dangerous.”

“I thought the women made the decisions in our family. And you know I can fight, I was able to last time.”

“First, you’re not an adult yet so you don’t have that privilege. Second, the last time you fought werewolves in hand-to-hand combat it was against a bunch of untrained Betas. This time we’re going up against a group of highly skilled Alphas. And yes, I know you fought them before in the bank, but were you actually in the fight then? Or were you a sniper?”

Allison scowled at her father for another second before muttering, “sniper.”

“Exactly. And that’s what you’ll do this time.”

“So is there a rest of this plan? Or is that it?” Scott asked impatiently.

“The rest of us split into two groups and cover the front and the back. We subdue their Pack and find Stiles. Scott, Isaac, Boyd, and I will take the front. Derek, Cora, and Peter take the back.”

“Oh, no I’m not fighting,” Peter cut in.

“Well then what use are you?” Allison asked.

“I’m just here to listen to your plan, tell you how much it sucks – which it does by the way – and then improve on it.”

“Okay, well how would you do it?” Chris asked impatiently.

“Get some mountain ash and, once our Pack is in, lock the place down. You don’t know if all the Alphas, or even any of them, are there right now. It would be terrible if you thought you were in the clear only to have one of them surprise you all and take you down. That way you can also enter as a unit and make it easier for you to help one another if you’re in a tight spot. There might only be four of them now, but don’t underestimate them, especially if the twins manage to morph before you take them down. Also, if you can get it off Deaton, it might be beneficial to get mountain ash for Allison and John. If any of the Alphas aren’t in the house and catch wind of them, it would probably be fairly easy to sneak up on them and attack.”

“And how would we circle the house in mountain ash? Do it fast and hope they don’t notice? I stay behind and hope the others can hold off the Alphas long enough for me to do it?”

“We could lay mountain ash down around the full block,” Lydia broke in.

Everyone looked at her in surprise, making her role her eyes in exasperation.

“Look, if we lay it down around the house, we’ll have to wait until the fighting starts to even begin, so it would probably be kind of pointless. If we do the whole block, though, we can lay it down first and close it off once our Pack has gone over.”

“Alright. I’ll lay down the mountain ash, wait for you guys to cross, then close the circle and follow you over,” Chris said, looking at Derek. At the werewolf’s nod, he stood up. “Well then, if there are no more objections, let’s head out.”

When nobody spoke, Chris turned and headed out the door, the rest of the group trailing after him.

 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

“Answer the question, and I’ll stop,” Deucalion said calmly over Stiles’ pleading.

“I don’t know, I swear! Just please stop!” Stiles sobbed, trying to pull his hand away as Deucalion broke another one of his fingers.

“I know you’re lying. I can hear your heartbeat skip. Give me an answer, Stiles.”

Stiles pressed his lips together, shaking his head as tears continue to fall down his cheeks.

Sighing, Deucalion leaned forward and backhanded him across the face, snapping the boy’s head to the side and making him cry out before he fell silent, finally passed out from the pain.

“Well at least he’ll be quiet now,” Kali said, taking Deucalion’s arm and leading him out of the room.

“He was starting to get annoying, wasn’t he? Let’s have dinner then we can try again,” Deucalion replied, closing the door behind them as they went upstairs to join the twins.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hale Pack goes after the Alphas in an attempt to rescue Stiles

John was silent on the drive over to Deaton’s and during the time it took Chris to convince Deaton to give them the mountain ash. So far, he hadn’t had time to process everything that Scott had told him, having been completely focused on getting his son back. But sitting in his car with nothing to distract him, he finally had to sort through all this new information while Scott fidgeted restlessly in the seat beside him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Scott finally asked, breaking the silence as they waited for Chris to come out of Deaton’s office.

“No. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that this is real.”

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, during which time Chris came back out and they all pulled back onto the road on their way to where the Alpha pack was hiding out.

“How were you bitten?” John asked abruptly.

“That night Stiles went looking for the body in the woods, I was with him. I hid when you guys saw him and ended up getting lost. Peter found me and bit me.”

“You’ve been hiding this from me for almost two years?” John asked, knuckles whitening on the steering wheel.

“At first I was against it. Peter was Alpha and was after me to be part of his Pack. He threatened everyone close to me including Stiles, and I thought having you on our side would help. But Stiles was terrified it would get you killed if you knew so I didn’t say anything. Then Peter was going to bite my mom to force me to join him and I realized that Stiles was right. Telling you wouldn’t have helped, it would have just made it easier for the bad guys to get to us, so we kept it a secret.”

John sat in silence for another minute before speaking again. “Does your mother know now?”

“She found out when Matt was holding us prisoner in the police station. I shifted in front of her. Kind of hard to keep it a secret after that.”

“How’d she take it?”

“It took her some time to come around, but she did eventually. She’s fine with it now but I think she’s still pissed I didn’t tell her sooner.”

“I know that feeling,” John muttered as they pulled up a block away from the Alpha’s house.

Killing the engine, him and Scott stepped out of the car and joined the rest of the group, minus Lydia and Peter, huddled around Chris’ car gathering weapons.

“Take your pick, John. You’ll be watching the front of the house and Allison’s watching the back. Here’s some mountain ash,” Chris said, handing the other man a small pouch. “Lay it in a circle around yourself and if any of the Alphas try to sneak up on you, they won’t be able to cross the line. The rest of us will go in together through the front door. I’ll start laying the line. Everyone else get in position and once I’m back we can move in,” Chris said, opening a pouch similar to the one he had handed John except bigger, and, dropping mountain ash as he went, started off around the block with Allison at his side.

The rest of them stood there for a few seconds before John turned to the werewolves. “Get my son back safely,” was all he said before he crossed the street and entered one of the houses across form the Alpha’s.

The sun was almost set as Chris came up the sidewalk alone and, waiting for the werewolves to cross the line, closed the circle. Pressing his hand against the invisible barrier, Scott could feel it pushing back against him, refusing to give.

Satisfied, the Pack and Chris turned and ran towards the house, hoping to catch the Alphas off guard.

 - 

Everything turned to chaos the second they entered the house, Derek and Chris in the lead. The Alphas were suddenly there, barring their way, fangs out and eyes glowing as Derek’s Pack entered and lunged at them. The two Packs crashed together, fighting savagely as Chris, Boyd, and Scott grappled with the twins who had morphed together, Isaac and Cora fought Deucalion, and Derek took on Kali. They fought back and forth, destroying the house when Kali managed to land a well-placed kick and send Derek flying out the window. Kali quickly followed, pouncing on Derek before he could get back up and began tearing at him. There was the sound of a gunshot and Kali went rigid, keeling over beside Derek.

Looking in the direction of the noise, Derek saw the Sheriff in the second floor window of the house across from the fight looking down at him before sweeping his gun back up, looking for any other targets. Getting to his feet, Derek walked over and rolled over Kali’s body, checking for any signs of life.

Finding none, Derek turned and ran back to the house but paused at the sound of another heartbeat. Scenting the air, he could make out Stiles’ smell and, sneaking through the back door, followed it to the door to the basement. Going through, he listened as the jackrabbit sound of Stiles’ heartbeat got louder and, opening one of the doors at the bottom of the stairs, entered the room where Stiles was being kept.

Derek froze at the sight in front of him. Stiles had been tied to a chair and apparently beaten bloody. His face was covered in bruises and he was getting a black eye. Most of his fingers were bent at odd angles and he had deep welts around his wrists, probably from struggling against the ropes circling them.

Moving forward, Derek cupped Stiles’ cheek and started draining the pain, almost falling to his knees under the amount of pain Stiles was experiencing. Withdrawing his hand, he quickly cut the ropes tying Stiles down and, as he went to scoop Stiles up, heard him whimper.

“Stop… it hurts…”

Kneeling down in front of him, Derek took Stiles’ face gently in his hands again, trying to get him to focus.

“Stiles. Stiles, can you hear me? It’s Derek. I’m going to get you to safety, but I need to move you. I can take some more of the pain, but you have to trust me, okay?”

At Stiles’ slight nod Derek drew out more of the pain, gritting his teeth as he was exposed to the tortures Stiles had gone through. Taking as much as he could bear, he stood again and carefully pulled Stiles into his arms before turning and going back up the stairs and out the back door away from the fighting.

Exiting the house, Derek saw the body of one of the Alpha twins lying on the ground with an arrow through his neck, blank eyes staring, while the other twin fought on.

Running now, Derek took Stiles as far from the fight as possible, reaching the other end of the block and laying him on a bench before pulling out his phone and calling the Sheriff.

“Mr. Stilinski, I have Stiles. We’re on the East corner but I can’t cross the barrier with him. You need to come get him. Hurry.” Hanging up, Derek spun around at the sound of approaching footsteps to see Deucalion standing behind him. Dropping into a fighting stance, Derek let out a warning growl as he shifted, feeling his fangs drop and his vision turn red.

“Take one more step and I’ll rip you to shreds,” Derek warned, his words slightly slurred from his protruding fangs.

“I’d like to see you try,” Deucalion answered, lunging at Derek.

Jumping forward, Derek met Deucalion head on, snapping at his face before Deucalion pushed him away and swiped at his side. Dodging, Derek ducked under another blow and, seeing an opening, tried to hit the other wolf. Deucalion was expecting it, however, and managed to deflect it, throwing Derek off balance and sending him sprawling.

Hitting the dirt, Derek looked up to see Deucalion looming over Stiles.

Looking up, he smiled at Derek. “You took my Pack from me. I’ll take the person you love from you.”

Derek lost it. Springing to his feet, he covered the distance between them before Deucalion could touch Stiles and, catching him by surprise, knocked him over and away from the unconscious boy. Rolling away, Derek immediately jumped up again and leapt at Deucalion before the other man could get up, falling on him and, in one quick blow, Derek tore his throat out.

Panting, Derek got off Deucalion’s lifeless body and glanced around. He couldn’t see or hear any signs of a fight, but he could see Chris jogging towards him so they must have won. Looking into the street, he saw John running towards him, his gun in hand. Getting up, Derek walked back over to the bench where Stiles lay and sat down heavily beside it. A moment later, John arrived and Derek heard his sharp intake of breath when he saw the state his son was in.

“Is he…?” John asked, unable to complete the question.

“He’s alive, but unconscious. I took as much pain as I could, but there’s still too much. Scott can take more when he gets here. That’ll help. We need to get him to a hospital though.”

“I’ll take him. I’ve got the Sheriff’s car, I can get us there faster,” John said as Chris came up.

“What happened? Is he okay?”

“He’s unconscious. We’re going to get him into my car and I’ll take him to the ER.”

“I’m coming,” Derek said, standing up.

John eyed him for a moment before nodding. “Alright. Let’s go.”

Scooping Stiles up again, Derek followed John back to his car, Chris at his side.

“Is everyone else okay?” Derek asked, remembering the rest of the Pack.

“Yeah. Boyd has a broken arm from the twins, but it’s healing. Deucalion managed to knock out Cora and Isaac before he went after you, but they’ve both come around. Both had a couple injuries but they weren’t deep and they’ve started healing as well. All the Alphas are dead.”

“Okay. Tell them we’re taking Stiles to the hospital, and they can meet us there if they want.”

“Alright. See you there,” Chris said, breaking the circle of mountain ash running around the block and heading back inside the Alpha’s house.

Getting to the car, Derek gently laid Stiles out on the back seat and got in on the other side, resting the boy’s head in his lap.

“What’s going on…?” Stiles asked groggily as the Sheriff started the engine and turned on the siren, not hearing his son’s words.

“It’s okay, Stiles. I’ve got you. Go back to sleep,” Derek whispered, too low for the Sheriff to hear.

Just as they were about to pull away, the passenger door was pulled open and Scott jumped into the seat, causing John to swear and slam on the breaks.

“You trying to give me a heart attack?” John accused, pulling away from the curb.

“You tried to leave without me. How well did you think that was going to work,” Scott argued back before turning to face Derek.

“How’s he doing?”

“He’s unconscious and in a lot of pain.”

Without another word, Scott reached back and grabbed Stiles’ hand, siphoning more of his pain away. After a few seconds he pulled his hand back, looking down at his friend in concern.

“What the hell did they do to him?”

“I don’t know. But it was bad.”

They both lapsed into silence after that as John pushed the accelerator down harder.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pack finds out the extent of Stiles' injuries.

Arriving at the hospital, the three of them rushed into the emergency department, Derek still carrying Stiles. Running up to the front desk John quickly explained the situation and there was a flurry of activity while a porter brought a stretcher and the doctors and nurses swarmed around Stiles once Derek had put him down.

As the stretcher was taken down the hall, Scott, Derek, and John tried to follow but were stopped by another doctor.

“I’m sorry, you can’t go with him yet. They need to find out the extent of his injuries and stabilize him first. I’ll come find you once we have news,” he said before leaving.

Walking back to the waiting room, the three of them collapsed in the chairs, too anxious to talk. After a few minutes, the doors slid open and Isaac, Boyd, Cora, Chris, and Allison came in, Isaac with a slight limp, Boyd with his arm in a makeshift sling, and Cora with a bandage covering most of her forearm.

Joining Derek and the others, Isaac gave Derek a once-over before saying, “go to the bathroom and get cleaned up. You’re covered in blood.”

Derek stared at him for a few seconds as if he couldn’t understand Isaac’s words before getting up and moving towards the bathroom seemingly on autopilot.

“Is he okay?” Cora asked Scott in concern.

“I dunno, he hasn’t said anything. I think he’s probably freaking out over Stiles. He wasn’t in great condition.”

“But he’s gonna be okay, right?” Allison asked. “Have the doctors told you anything?”

“No, not yet. But I think he’ll be okay. He was in a lot of pain though. Derek and I couldn’t even take it all from him.”

At his words, the Sheriff let out a small sob, letting his face fall into his hands as he tried to compose himself.

“I’m sorry John,” Scott started to say, but the Sheriff just shook his head and got up. Walking to the entrance, he exited the hospital and sat on the curb outside.

Looking after him, Scott jumped when his phone went off in his pocket. Fishing it out, he saw he had five missed texts and three missed calls from his mom. “Shit.”

“Who is it?” Allison asked, glancing over his shoulder at his screen.

“My mom. I totally forgot to tell her about this, she’s probably freaking out.” Hitting the call button, Scott got up and walked away, waiting for the call to go through with dread.

Melissa McCall picked up on the third ring and was speaking before Scott could say anything.

“Where the _hell_ have you been? I’ve been calling and you wouldn’t answer, I’ve been freaking out worrying, I thought you were hurt or worse –“

“Mom, I’m fine. I’m at the hospital – it’s not for me!” Scott said quickly at Melissa’s sharp intake of breath. “Stiles was kidnapped by the Alphas, and by the looks of it they beat him up pretty badly. We just got to the ER, we’re waiting for the doctors to come talk to us.”

“I’m coming over there.”

“Mom, it’s okay. You have work in the morning, you’ll be exhausted.”

“Do you think I care about that? I might be able to help get you information faster,” his mother said and Scott could hear the lock click shut as she left the house. “I’ll be there soon.”

Ending the conversation, Scott pocketed his phone and headed back to the group as Derek came out of the bathroom looking slightly cleaner than before.

“My mom’s coming over. She said she’ll try to find out what’s going on,” Scott said as he and Derek sat down.

The others nodded in acknowledgement but no one said anything, too wrapped up in their own thoughts to talk.

A few minutes later, Melissa McCall walked through the doors with John, talking to him quietly. Bringing him over to the group, she sat him down beside Scott. “How long ago did you bring Stiles in?”

“Maybe half an hour ago,” Scott answered uncertainly.

“Okay. I’ll head back, see if there’s any news yet. I’ll be back soon,” Melissa replied and headed in the direction the doctors had taken Stiles.

She was only gone for a few minutes, however, before she was coming back into the waiting area with a grim expression on her face.

Sitting opposite her son, Melissa heaved in a deep sigh before speaking. “I went down and asked where Stiles was. Apparently they’ve taken him in for X-rays, but the porter couldn’t give me any more information than that. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay mom, you did the best you could,” Scott said, giving her a small smile. Glancing at Derek, he saw the other wolf staring at the ground with a pained expression on his face, and could smell the fear rolling off him in waves. “He’s a fighter. I’m sure he’ll be okay,” Scott said reassuringly, directing the words at Derek, although he didn’t seem to notice.

They sat there for another twenty minutes when Lydia burst through the doors and headed straight for the group. “Is he okay? What happened,” she asked, sitting down next to Allison.

“They’ve taken him back, and his injuries looked pretty bad, but we don’t know any details yet,” Scott answered. “How did you know we were here?”

“Allison texted me. I would’ve been here sooner, but my car’s in the shop and my parents were out with theirs.”

Scott just nodded in response, and they all fell silent once again.

-

They sat there for another hour occasionally getting up to stretch their legs or go to the bathroom, when finally one of the doctors came back out.

“You’re Mr. Stilinski,” he asked, walking up to John.

John nodded, standing up.

“Your son came around for a few minutes and told us you’re his next of kin. Is that correct?”

“Yes. Can I see Stiles now? Is he okay?” John asked impatiently.

“You’re son has been stabilized sir. But you can’t see him yet. He’s sleeping now and the nurse is still with him. If you’ll come with me, I’ll tell you his condition in more detail in private.”

“Alright,” John said as Scott and Derek started to protest.

“I can only talk to the next of kin,” the doctor said, stopping them before they could say anything. “Sir, if you’ll come with me,” he said again, gesturing for John to follow.

Walking around the corner, the doctor led John to a visiting room and, closing the door, sat down across from him.

“You’re son is going to be okay. He’ll need to stay at the hospital for a few days so we can monitor him but all his wounds will heal.”

“You said he woke up when you were treating him. Was he okay? What did he say?”

“He was confused at first, which is fairly common when we get unconscious patients. But we explained the situation and asked him some questions. He was able to tell us his name and who you were before slipping under again. We stabilized him, and all his vitals are normal now. But Mr. Stilinski, your son had some pretty serious injuries. Those will take a while to heal.”

“What do you mean? What happened to him?”

“He suffered major trauma to his abdomen, hands, and face. He has multiple bruised ribs but thankfully none are broken. He also had internal bleeding in his stomach but we were able to stitch that up and it’s stopped now. He’s still recovering from the surgery.”

“You mentioned his face? I saw bruising, but is it worse than that?”

“Yes. Your son’s cheekbone has been chipped. Unfortunately there’s no way to help that, except ice it and give it time to heal on its own but it will be painful. Your son also has seven broken fingers. We’ve reset and braced them, but the healing process will take a while.”

John just sat there taking it all in, unable to form a response. His mind was reeling from the information the doctor was telling him, and he had absolutely no idea what to say.

“Mr. Stilinski, I have to go check on my other patients now. If you’d like, I can ask a nurse to come talk to you, if you have anymore questions?”

“Uh, no it’s, uh… it’s fine. Thanks,” John said, standing and slowly making his way towards the door. “Just – how long until I can see him?”

“When he wakes up, I’ll call you in. But that probably won’t be for a while. If you want to go home and rest, you can –“

“No. No, I’m not leaving him. I’ll be in the waiting room.”

The doctor nodded, and John turned and headed back to where the others were.

Sitting back down in his seat, John stared blankly ahead of himself for a few seconds while everyone sat awkwardly around him, unsure of what to say, before he broke down and began crying.

Immediately, Melissa was on her knees in front of him, trying to comfort him. “Go get us some coffee,” she said to the rest of the group, listening as they all got up and shuffled off.

“Hey John, listen to me. Your son’s going to be okay.”

“I sh-should’ve protect-tected him,” John sobbed, grabbing Melissa’s hand. “I should’ve been looking a-after him!”

“I know, John. I feel that way every time Scott puts himself in danger to protect his Pack and I. It kills me, knowing I might not see him again, but knowing I can’t stop him. And you’re allowed to be upset, but you know Stiles will always make his own choices, and he’ll try him damn hardest to protect the people he loves, no matter how stupid it is. And as scary as that is, you should be proud of that, because he learned it from you.”

John glanced up at her, his tears finally slowing down. “I know. He’s an idiot sometimes a-and I know he only does it because he l-loves me, but it h-hurts so much to see him like that. And to know that he h-hid it from me for so long.”

“Yeah, well you can yell at him for that, but I don’t know how much good it’ll do you. He can be incredibly stubborn when he wants to be. I don’t know where he gets it from,” Melissa said, making John laugh softly.

“The things the doctor told me, though. His injuries –“

“I know, John,” Melissa cut him off. “The Pack heard him telling you. We don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to.”

“Why did they have to do it to him though? Why Stiles?”

“Because they were evil. Because they thought they could get away with it. I don’t know. But we got Stiles back. And he’ll recover. He’ll have support and love, and he’ll be okay.”

John took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “You’re right. It terrifies me though, how much he’s changed over the past few years. Finding out he’s been hiding these secrets from me was horrible. When did he change so much? When did he stop being my son and start being my protector instead?”

“He’s still your son John. You know that. And when he’s better, you can talk to him about all this, but right now, he’s going to need to know that you’re not mad at him and that you still love him. Can you do that?”

“Yeah,” John said quietly, meeting Melissa’s eyes. “I might kill him afterwards though, for putting me through this.”

“Well, I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve it. But at least let him explain himself before you do,” Melissa said with a smile as the others came back around the corner.

Standing, Melissa stretched, stifling a yawn before speaking. “Well, we aren’t going to be able to see Stiles until he wakes up, and I’m working tomorrow. So I’m gonna head home. John, you want me to bring you anything in the morning?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“Okay. Scott I assume you’re staying here?”

“Yes.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, then. Call me if anything happens,” Melissa said and she and Isaac headed out together.

“We should probably head out, too. I still have to deal with the Alphas and it’s a school night. Allison?” Chris said, standing and nodding his head towards the entrance.

“Yeah, I’m coming,” she said to her dad before turning back at Scott. “I’ll see you tomorrow after class. Text me when Stiles wakes up.” Scott nodded and Allison stood up, fishing her keys out of her pocket as she and Chris left the hospital as well.

“Well, I suppose I’d better go, too. After all, it is a school night and I do still have work to do. Let me know how Stiles is in the morning. And tell him that if he puts me through this again, I’ll kill him myself,” Lydia said, squeezing Scott’s hand. “Cora, Boyd, if you guys want a ride, I can drop you off,” she continued, standing and putting on her jacket.

“You gonna be okay without me?” Cora asked, looking at Derek.

“Yeah, go get some sleep. You look like you need it,” Derek responded, giving her a small smile as she stood.

“Okay. Call me if you need me,” Cora said and her, Boyd, and Lydia left together, leaving Scott, John, and Derek to wait for Stiles to wake up.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles wakes up in the hospital and has a heart-to-heart with his father.

John woke up with a crick in his neck and a nurse shaking him by the shoulder.

“Your son is awake now, if you’d like to see him,” he said as Derek and Scott both sat up as well.

“Yeah, okay. What time is it?” John asked groggily.

“Nine in the morning. I’ll take you to him,” the nurse said leading the way with John, Scott, and Derek following.

Going to the elevators, the nurse hit the ‘up’ button and immediately one of the elevators dinged open. Entering, he hit floor five and the four of them went up, none of them saying anything.

“What’s floor five?” John asked, breaking the silence.

“Gastro-intestinal post-operative recovery. I should warn you, your son is on a lot of painkillers,” the nurse said, leading them to Stiles’ room.

“Thanks for the warning,” John said before entering his son’s room, Scott and Derek following him.

“Heeyyy, dadd-io. And Scott! My fave two people! And Derek? What are you doing here? I mean, I know I love you and all, but you don’t know that. Oh, well I guess you do now,” Stiles said, frowning in concentration. “Just forget I said that.”

There was an awkward silence, no one knowing what to say while Derek stood there, stunned. He had always smelled Stiles’ attraction towards him when they were in the same room and could hear his heartbeat picking up, but he had always assumed it was teenage hormones or that he’d been exaggerating it in his mind. To find out Stiles felt that strongly about him, even if he was high, was slightly ground breaking.

Clearing his throat, John stepped forward. “Are you okay Stiles?”

“Yeaahhh. Never been better. They’ve got me on the good stuff. As long as I don’t move, I am _awesome_.”

Rushing forward, John grabbed his son in a hug.

“Ow! My ribs! Dad!”

“Don’t you _ever_ do that to me again. You hear me?”

“Well I don’t _want_ to,” Stiles responded, voice slightly muffled by his father’s shirt. “It just happens sometimes.

Releasing Stiles, John looked his son over before collapsing in the chair beside the bed.

“You look like shit,” Scott said, moving into the room as well.

“Well you look like the fucking moon. Haha, get it? Cause you’re a werewolf,” Stiles said, snorting at his joke and frowning when no one else laughed. “Why does no one appreciate my jokes?”

“We’re all too annoyed with you, Stiles.”

“Come on, Scotty. Moon of my life. You can’t stay mad at me.”

“I’m not mad at you. I’m annoyed with you,” Scott replied, although he was smiling now. “And enough with the moon references, or I’ll start recording you.”

“Wow, so rude. I thought we were best bros, man,” Stiles said. “Derekkkk,” he whined, elongating Derek’s name. “Stop moping and get in here. I think you need a hug. Group hug, everyone, let’s go.” Waving his arms, Stiles tried to get everyone to come in for a hug as they watched on, trying not to laugh.

“How about later, Stiles?” John finally said, grabbing his son’s hands and placing them at his sides.

“Okaaayyy. But you have to promise.”

“Okay, we promise.”

“But Derek still looks so sad,” Stiles whined again.

Scott and John both looked at him, prompting him to finally say something. “I just… I’m so sorry Stiles.”

“No, no, no. Don’t be sorry. You’re too pretty to be sorry.”

“We should have protected you better.”

“No, stop talking. You’re being stupid. You’re so pretty but you’re so stupid. You did everything you could. ‘S why you’re perfect.”

“Boys, do you mind letting me talk to my son alone,” John interrupted, sitting up in the chair.

“Yeah, sure thing. I’ve gotta call Allison anyway,” Scott said, as he and Derek left the room.

“And no listening!” John called as they closed the door behind them.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me, Stiles?”

“Tell you about what?” Stiles asked in confusion. He was starting to think more clearly as the fog from the pain medications disappeared, but he still didn’t know what his dad was talking about.

“About your best friend being a werewolf. About there being an Alpha Pack in town. About Derek Hale being an Alpha and turning three high school kids. Take your pick.”

Stiles looked away, refusing to meet his father’s gaze. He was silent for a long while before answering. “I’m sorry. I was scared you would get hurt. You’re all I have left. I couldn’t lose both my –“ Stiles let out a choked sob as tears started falling down his face.

“It’s okay, Stiles. I mean I’m probably going to ground you until you’re eighteen for this, but I get why you did it. We can talk more about it when you’re feeling better, okay?”

At Stiles’ nod, John leaned over and gave his son another hug. “I still love you, kiddo. Even if you do drive me crazy sometimes.”

“I love you too, dad.”

They sat there together for a while, talking quietly together, when there was a knock at the door and Scott came in again.

“Can I come back in yet?”

“Yeah, sure. I have to get going anyways,” John said, standing up and stretching.

“What? Why? Stiles demanded.

“I’m still the Sheriff, kiddo. I have to be at the station by noon, and I need to shower and change first. I’ll be back as soon as I can though, okay? I’ll see you guys later.” Leaning in, John gave his son another hug and left.

“Did you tell him everything, Scott?” Stiles asked as soon as John had left the room.

“Yes. I’m sorry, Stiles. I didn’t want to but we had no idea where you were or what was happening. We didn’t know what else to do.”

“’S okay. I would’ve done the same thing. I just wish he hadn’t had to ever find out.”

“What did he say to you about it?” Scott asked, sitting in the chair John had abandoned.

“That I’ll be grounded ‘til I’m eighteen. And that he understands and still loves me. So I guess it went better than it could’ve gone. What even happened yesterday? How’d you guys find me so quickly?”

“By luck. When we went to the station, we found a file about some squatters in the new district of town. It turned out to be the Alpha Pack,” Scott said.

“So you guys just decided to bring the fight to them? And came away unharmed?”

“There were a few minor injuries, but nothing too severe. But there were eight of us and four of them.”

“What happened to them?”

“They’re all dead.”

“Good.” Stiles replied. “After what they did to me, they deserved it. My doctor didn’t want to tell me yet, but you know how annoying I can be when I want something.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Scott replied with a smile.

“That’s why you’re my best bro. So understanding. Anyways, they finally told me. You’d think the Alphas didn’t like me or something, given what they did.”

Shifting, Stiles hissed in pain as the movement pulled at his ribs.

“Dude, you alright? I thought they were giving you pain killers.”

“Yeah, but it’s morphine so they ‘can’t give me too much or I’ll get addicted’. I tried to tell them that’s not my main concern right now, but they ignored me.”

Shifting again, Stiles slowly pulled himself up the bed and rested his head on his pillows again.

“That’s better. I feel like I’ve been sliding down all morning and it’s been driving me crazy.”

“Are you okay or do you want me to take some of the pain?” Scott asked in concern.

“Nah, I’ll be okay. Besides, you and Derek took enough yesterday. Yeah, I remember that,” Stiles said, smiling at Scott’s surprised expression. “It all kind of fades in and out. But I remember you and Derek talking, and then the pain leaving me.”

“I’m sorry we couldn’t get to you sooner.”

“Why won’t you people stop apologizing?! Stop, or I swear to God I’ll get out of this bed and kick your ass myself. What happened wasn’t your fault. It was a shitty thing to happen and I wish it hadn’t but it did. You couldn’t have stopped it. You can’t be my personal bodyguard, Scott. We learned that yesterday.”

Before either of them could say anything, there was a knock at the door and Melissa came into the room.

“Hey Stiles, how are you feeling?”

“Just peachy.”

“Yeah, you look it. I only have a few minutes left on my break so I can’t stay long, but I wanted to check in.”

“I have to get hurt more often. I get so much attention.”

“Well, I promised Lydia I’d tell you, and I quote, ‘if you put her through this again she’ll kill you herself.’ So I don’t know how much it’s worth it.”

“Aw, I always knew she cared about me.”

“Well, as much as I’d love to stay and chat, I have to get back to my shift. Scott, you can stay here for the rest of the morning, but I want you at school for your afternoon classes. I’ll drop by at lunch, Stiles,” Melissa said and headed out, leaving Stiles and Scott together. They talked for a bit longer before Scott headed out to get to his last two classes with a promise of bringing Stiles his homework.

-

Stiles didn’t see Derek again during his hospital stay. Over the next few days people kept coming in and out of Stiles’ hospital room. Scott and John were in his room almost constantly when they weren’t at work or, in Scott’s case, school. Melissa often came by when she was working to keep Stiles company during her breaks and the rest of Stiles’ friends visited occasionally to check up on him.

“So you’re finally being discharged?” Scott asked as he helped Stiles put on the clothes he had brought.

“Yeah. Apparently I’m doing well enough to go. But I don’t feel like it. I’m still on pain medication, and I’m not allowed to take off the finger splints so I can barely do anything. I’ve only been able to eat smoothies ‘cause I can’t use a fork or spoon. I didn’t think it was possible to miss burgers this much.”

“Well at least you have an excuse to not do your homework or any tests for the next while, eh?”

“Yeah, can’t wait to see Harris’ face when I tell him I can’t take that test on Friday.”

“Dude, Harris went missing the other day. They haven’t found him yet. I thought Allison told you.”

“Wait, seriously? She didn’t mention it at all! Do you think he’s one of the sacrifices?”

“Maybe. Can’t think of who else would want to kidnap a chemistry teacher.”

“Hey boys,” a voice called and there was a knock at the door. “You decent?”

“Yes,” Stiles called back and Melissa walked into the room.

“So, here’s your prescription for the pain medication. Here’s your appointment time with the fracture clinic next week. And you remember your instructions regarding your splints?”

“I can only take them off to shower, but I need to tape them so they don’t get bumped. And I have to ice my face to keep down the swelling.”

“Good. I’ll come by in a few days to check up on you. Call me if you need anything, alright?”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Melissa.”

“Got everything?” Scott asked, grabbing Stiles’ bag for him.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

-

“Hey dad, I’m home!” Stiles shouted, walking into his house behind Scott.

“Great, just in time. I just ordered Chinese.”

“Seriously?!” Stiles half-shrieked.

“Of course not,” John said, laughing at his son’s reaction. “Think you can handle pizza though, or will that be too difficult?”

“That’s not very healthy, dad.”

“It’s a celebration tonight. We can eat unhealthy food one night and not die from it.”

“Okay, pepperoni, mushrooms, and bacon then.”

“Sounds good. I’ll go order. Scott you’re staying, I assume?”

“For pizza? Absolutely.”

“Okay. Get my son upstairs and help him unpack before he gets distracted by something,” John said, going into the kitchen.

-

Dinner was an entertaining sight, with Stiles trying to clutch the pizza between his braced fingers. Swearing, he picked up his piece of pizza for the third time, trying to get it to his mouth without losing any of the toppings.

“Come one pizza, come to daddy.” Taking a bite, he let out a triumphant whoop, cherishing the taste.

“That’s how it’s done! I’m finally getting the hang of this. Maybe I’ll be able to use chopsticks tomorrow night,” Stiles said around his mouthful of food.

“I will pay you twenty bucks if you manage to successfully use chopsticks while wearing those,” Scott said, laughing as Stiles tried to catch a piece of mushroom falling off his pizza.

“Don’t say that, Scott, now that’s all he’ll focus on and he still has a ton of homework to do,” John replied.

“I appreciate the faith you have in me, dad.”

“What can I say? You learned to juggle and you figured out how to solve a five-sided rubik’s cube last year so you wouldn’t have to do your report. That’s the sort of stuff that earns you a rep.”

“Okay, but those were very important life skills that will probably come in handy one day.”

“Yeah, when you flunk out of school for not getting your homework done.”

Stiles just stuck his tongue out in response as Scott laughs at him.

The rest of the meal passed quietly. Afterwards, while John was packing up the leftovers, Scott helped Stiles tape his fingers together so he could have a shower.

“How do they feel,” Scott asked, cutting the last piece of tape.

“Stiff, and they’re aching a bit but the pain’s not too bad. I took some Tylenol before dinner, I guess that’s kicked in.”

“Want me to take any of it?”

“Nah, I’ll survive. Now get out of here so I can have a shower.”

Getting under the hot water, Stiles immediately felt himself start to relax. Showering at the hospital had been a terrible experience – the water wouldn’t stay warm for more than five minutes and the pressure was so bad it was more like a drizzle that a shower. Plus, he’d been unable to maneuver well enough to wash himself and had needed to ask for help from one of the nurses. Being in his own shower with good pressure was like heaven after that.

-

Stepping out of the shower fifteen minutes later, Stiles carefully dried himself off before stepping up to the mirror to examine his injuries. His face where Deucalion had slapped him was still very bruised and a bit swollen; the bruises on his ribs had mostly faded to a yellow-green colour although some of them were still a bit purple. His stomach looked the best, although he had his stitches where the surgeon had gone in to stop the internal bleeding. There was a bit of bruising around the sutures, but other than that it was clear.

Turning away, Stiles started to carefully pull his clothes back on, grunting when the movement pulled at his ribs. Fully clothed, he fumbled for the finger splints and brought them downstairs with him in search of someone to help get them back on.

He found John and Scott sitting on the couch together watching television and eating popcorn.

“Hey, one of you wanna help me?” Stiles asked, sitting down and dumping the splints on the coffee table.

“Wow, you’re so needy,” Scott joked, taking off the tape holding Stiles’ ring and middle fingers together and gently taking it off. Grabbing the first splint, he got to work bracing Stiles’ fingers again.

Afterwards, the three of them hung out on the couch watching Simpson reruns and eating popcorn until it was time for bed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles finds Derek and forces him to admit his feelings.

Starting school on Monday, Stiles could hear the whispers following him as he walked through the halls to class. Stiles knew Isaac and Scott had been telling people that he had been hit by a car, but listening to the gossip from his peers he would have laughed at how completely wrong they were, if it wasn’t for his ribs.

_“Was driving drunk…”_

_“Almost hit a deer. Swerved into a tree instead.”_

Arriving at class, Stiles sat down in his usual spot and pulled out his book, pretending to be immersed until Scott could come save him.

“Hey bro,” Scott said, sitting beside him. “Did you hear what the rumour mill is putting out today?”

“Something about me being a drunk driver, or hitting a tree while trying to avoid a deer. At least the second one’s plausible. It’s like they forget I’m the Sheriff’s kid.”

“Nah, people just get caught up in it all, and no one knows what they’re saying any more. Remember when Erica got bitten, what people were saying about her?”

“You mean that she’d gotten a pimp?” Stiles responded, snorting. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Exactly. When it comes to rumours, no one’s very smart about it,” Scott replied as the bell rang and the teacher called them all to attention.

-

The rest of the morning passed without incident, although there were still people whispering wherever Stiles went. He and Scott got a good laugh out of it though, with Scott relaying some of the other things the students were coming up with to explain Stiles’ injuries.

Sitting down for lunch, he was about to start eating when Danny slid onto the bench across from him.

“Hey Stiles. Heard you got hit by a car a few days ago.”

“Yeah, some idiot ran a red light and hit me. Luckily my car wasn’t too damaged,” Stiles replied.

“Have you heard some of the rumours going around? One guy swears you hooked up with a girl and her boyfriend beat the shit out of you.”

“Seriously? Did they at least say if I was any good? Y’know this might finally get me laid.”

“Yeah, well I wouldn’t count on it, everyone seemed more stuck on the fact that you got beaten up. I gotta go though. See you in econ,” Danny said, getting up and heading over to his table.

“It truly is incredible what people will come up with,” Scott said, shaking his head in amusement.

“Yeah, but at least this one might help. If I’m worth a girl cheating on her boyfriend, I must be good, eh?”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You love it,” Stiles said, taking a bite out of the leftover pizza he’d brought.

-

The rest of the week passed in a blur of classes, catching up on homework, and convincing his dad that going to Scott’s house didn’t count as breaking the rules of him being grounded because it was practically his second home. Before he knew it, it was Saturday and Stiles was pulling up outside Scott’s house for some much needed hang-out time.

“Scott?” Stiles shouted, letting himself into his friend’s house. “Where you at?”

“Living room! And grab the chips on your way in!” Scott called back.

Entering the living room, chips in hand, Stiles sat on the couch beside his friend and dug his hand into the bag.

“Still living with the splints, I see.”

“Yeah, but your mom took a look, said I might get cleared to take them off and just tape them at my appointment on Monday.”

“Well at least you’ll be able to have that burger you’ve been craving.”

“Ugh dude, don’t remind me. My dad’s been talking about it all week. I think he’s trying to get me psyched so I’ll let him eat one when I get the splints off.”

“Mmm. Speaking of your dad, how’s he doing? With all… this?” Scott asked through his mouthful of chips, using his hand to articulate his meaning.

“I think he’s doing well. We had the talk last night, and it went better than I thought it would. He still grounded me, though. I’m limited to my house, school, and here, but only on weekends. And I have to be home by dinner and I can’t leave the house after that.”

“Yikes. How long does that go on for?”

“Indefinitely.”

“Sucks to be you, man.”

“Yeah, trust me, I know.

The two fell into a confortable silence, watching television and eating chips while Stiles drummed up the courage to broach the subject he’d been itching to talk about.

“Stiles, I can smell your anxiety and it’s starting to make me anxious. Whatever you’re thinking, just say it.”

“I just… have you –“ shaking his head in frustration, Stiles took a deep breath and spit it out. “Have you heard anything from Derek recently?”

“Uh, no? Was I supposed to?”

“No, it’s just… he hasn’t been responding to any of my texts or calls, and he’s never there when I go to the loft. I have no idea what’s going on.”

“Could it have to do with the fact you admitted you love him when you were in the hospital?”

“What?! Why didn’t you mention this earlier?” Stiles demanded, his voice going higher as he spoke.

“I thought you remembered? You remembered everything else from the first few days, so I thought you knew and didn’t want to talk about it,” Scott answered defensively.

“I remember the general idea of what happened! I don’t remember specific details! I was high on pain killers!”

“Oh… well, yeah, you kinda professed your love to him. He looked like he was gonna fall over when you did.”

Stiles fell back against the couch, groaning. “I can’t believe I did that. And I can’t believe neither you nor my dad mentioned it sooner!”

“Sorry dude.”

“I’m gonna have to fix this,” Stiles said, standing up. “I’m gonna go camp out in his loft and wait for him. He’ll have to come back eventually.”

“Dude, you probably don’t want to go right now. You’ve still got the braces on and a bit of bruising on your face. Maybe wait until you’ve at least lost the splints and your face isn’t so puffy. Going like this will probably just remind him of what happened, and that could be bad.”

“You’re right. Okay, I’ll wait until next weekend, then. I’ll just have to lie to my dad about where I am… again. God, no wonder he’s so angry with me,” Stiles said with a grimace, flopping back onto the couch.

“Well in the mean time, wanna have a Marvel marathon?”

“Trying to cheer me up, Scotty?”

Scott shrugged and got up to put the Captain America DVD in. “What are best friends for?”

“Thanks man,” Stiles said, settling back on the couch as the DVD menu came up.

-

“So we took a new set of X-rays and your fingers are all healing well. I think we can try it without the splints for the last week,” the doctor said, smiling at Stiles. It was Monday after school and he was at the fracture clinic getting his broken fingers reassessed. “Also, your ribs are healed now, so you can start participating in gym class again, so long as you don’t feel any pain. Nothing too physical, and you shouldn’t play any sports involving catching a ball until your fingers are completely healed, but you can still run and play things like soccer.”

“Really? Sweet!” Stiles replied, grinning back at the doctor.

“I’ll show you how to tape them so they don’t get reinjured or knocked around too much. And you’ll have to make sure the tape doesn’t come off. If your fingers start feeling painful again come back to the clinic and we’ll take another look at them. Next week, if they feel fine, you can start taking off the tape. You’ll have to make sure to stretch them since they’ll be stiff after so little use. You might have some trouble with fine motor skills at first. I’ll give you some exercises you can do to help with that,” the doctor continued before grabbing his medical tape and showing Stiles how to tape his fingers properly.

-

“So does this mean we can have burgers tonight?” John asked when he saw the tape on his son’s fingers.

“Will it get me out of being grounded if I say yes?”

“No but I’ll put a definite timeline on the sentence for you.”

“How much time am I facing?”

“If we have burgers tonight, another month.  But I’ll cut it to two weeks if I get to choose dinner for the rest of the week,” John responded. “What’ll it be, kid?”

“There has to be at least one vegetable present, not including potatoes, and you have to eat it. Then you can choose dinner this week.”

“Deal,” John said, smiling and shaking his son’s hand.

-

“So you were able to take off the splints? Does this mean you don’t need me to scan my notes for you anymore?” Scott asked, sliding into his seat next to Stiles in class the next day.

“But Scott! Your notes are so much neater than mine,” Stiles whined, giving his friend his best puppy-dog eyes.

“Dude, I invented that look, you can’t use it against me. And now that you can hold a pen, you can make your own notes. Besides, my mom’s going to start making me pay for the ink soon if I don’t stop.”

“Ugh, fine. But if I miss anything, you’ll need to let me copy your stuff.”

“Just make sure you don’t miss anything,” Scott said, smirking at Stiles as the bell started ringing.

-

“Hey dad, I’m home!” Stiles yelled, entering his house that evening.

“What took so long? Not skipping on your punishment already are you?” John called back suspiciously, coming out from the kitchen.

“No! I was cleared to start practicing yesterday. I just spent the last two hours running laps for Finstock.”

“And if I called Scott he would give me the same answer,” John replied.

“Y’know, it hurts that you trust him more than you trust me.”

“That’s what happens when you lie for so long. It takes a while to earn that trust back. Now answer the question.”

“Yes, he’ll tell you I was at practice.”

“Good. Now go upstairs and shower while I finish up dinner. You have half an hour,” John said, turning and going back to the kitchen while Stiles stomped up the stairs.

“Oh my God, that smells _amazing_. What are you making?” Stiles asked, joining his father in the kitchen half an hour later.

“Beer can chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans,” John replied. “And if you try to steal any more meat before I finish carving it, you’ll lose a finger. Now go set the table, the food’ll be ready very soon.”

Stiles just stuck his tongue out at John before licking his fingers clean and grabbing some cutlery for the table.

The two of them were just sitting down for dinner when Stiles’ phone went off.

“Stiles, you know we have a rule,” John said as Stiles tried to sneakily check the caller ID.

“It’s Scott though. It could be an emergency.”

“If it is, he’ll call again. Then you can answer it.”

“Fine,” Stiles grumbled, pocketing his phone again.

There was about two minutes of silence while they started dishing out food and Stiles waited anxiously, hoping that Scott would call again so he could find out what was going on, but terrified that there was an actual emergency.

“Is it Scott again?” John asked, placing the potatoes beside Stiles as his son’s phone went off again.

“Yeah. That means I can take it, right?”

“Fine, but be quick.”

“Hey Scotty, I’m just sitting down to dinner –“ Stiles started, walking into the kitchen.

_“You have to get to Derek’s now.”_

“What, why? What’s going on? Is he okay?” Stiles demanded, panic washing over him.

_“He’s fine. But Stiles, he’s leaving. He’s leaving Beacon Hills.”_

“What do you mean he’s leaving? He’s the Alpha, he can’t just leave,” Stiles cried, feeling like he was about to throw up.

_“I just went over to talk to him. He told me he’s planning on leaving for a while, he didn’t specify. Said he needs to get away and figure some things out. He wouldn’t tell me where he’s going. He’s leaving tonight, Stiles.”_

“I’ll be there,” Stiles said before hanging up and returning to the dining room where his dad was waiting for him.

“I need to go to Derek’s.”

“What’s going on at Derek’s?” John asked.

“He’s leaving. Tonight. I have to stop him,” Stiles said, turning and heading for the front door.

“No, you don’t. You’re still grounded. The others can handle it just as well as you.”

“No they can’t, dad! He’s leaving because of me! Because of what happened to me! He’s blaming himself like he always does!” Stiles nearly shouted, feeling dangerously close to tears.

“Then give him some space. If he says he needs to leave, he probably has a good reason. Let him go, son.”

“I can’t! I love him.” Stiles sobbed out, the tears finally starting to fall.

John stared at his son in shock for a second before grabbing him in a hug and gently running his hand up and down Stiles’ back, trying to soothe him.

“I l-love h-him! He c-can’t do this!” Stiles hiccupped, trying to stop the tears from falling.

After a few minutes, Stiles was able to pull himself back together and, wiping away the last tears, he pulled back from his father. “Please,” he whispered, looking up at his dad like his whole world was about to fall apart.

“You really love him, Stiles?” John asked, putting his hands on his son’s shoulders.

“Yes.”

“Then go wash your face quickly. Confronting him like this isn’t going to help your case.”

“You’re letting me go over?” Stiles asked in surprise.

“I’m driving you over. I don’t want you behind the wheel if there’s a chance you’ll break down again. Now be quick, we don’t know when he’s going to leave. I’ll be in the car,” John said, grabbing his keys while Stiles ran to the kitchen sink and quickly washed his face.

A few minutes later, Stiles had joined his dad in the car looking much more respectable and they were headed towards Derek’s loft, Stiles giving occasional directions.

“This is it,” Stiles said as they pulled up outside the building.

“I’ll wait here. Good luck kiddo,” John replied, cutting the engine as his son got out of the car.

Walking up the stairs to the loft, Stiles could feel adrenaline and fear pulsing through his body, partially terrified that he would be too late and the loft would be empty, and partially terrified that Derek would still be there and he’d actually have to confront him.

Reaching the top Stiles hesitated, trying to gather his thoughts before he pulled the door open.

Stepping inside, Stiles felt his heart drop when he couldn’t see any signs that Derek was still living there – the lights were out, his sneakers weren’t by the door, and none of his hoodies or workout clothes were flung over the couch like usual.

Determined not to give up, Stiles headed over to the stairs leading to Derek’s bedroom and, as he started ascending them, he nearly jumped out of his skin when Derek appeared at the top, suitcase in hand.

“Hello Stiles,” Derek said, flicking on the light for the main room and starting down the stairs, forcing Stiles to back down them or get run over. “Take care of yourself.”

Stiles continued to gape at Derek as he gathered up one or two more items before he finally found his voice.

“So that’s it? You’re just going to leave? Without talking to me?”

Derek sighed from where he was on the ground, grabbing his shoes and a pair of sweatpants from under the couch. “To be honest, I was hoping you’d think I had left already and would give up. I should’ve known you would be more persistent than that.”

“Why would you do that? _How_ could you do that?!”

“I figured it would be easier for both of us if I just disappeared. We both need the space and you need to forget your feelings for me,” Derek replied, standing up but keeping his back towards Stiles.

“So what? You think you can just decide for me? Just cause I was high the first time I told you I love you doesn’t mean I don’t mean it!”

“And that’s the problem!” Derek yelled back, finally turning around. “I’m dangerous! Everybody I care about gets killed or used as bait and I can’t… Stiles I can’t watch you die too! Not after what’s happened to me!”

“No Derek, this happened to me! I made my own choice when I fell in love with you! I knew the risks and I accepted them! I knew what would happen if I refused to give Deucalion information! All of that, that’s on me not you! And you don’t get to act guilty about it! And you especially don’t get to say you don’t love me just because you’re scared. Cause you know what? I’m scared too. I’m fucking _terrified_ of what might happen in the future. But I’m so much more scared of the thought of living life without _you._ I would rather be stuck in that basement with Deucalion all over again than watch you walk through that door.”

Derek looked down, unable to maintain eye contact anymore. “Stiles, I can’t –“

“Yes you can! You have the right to be happy Derek. No matter what you might believe.”

“But what if something happens to you? How could I live with myself?”

“Nothing’s going to happen that we can’t handle. We always manage to get through, somehow.”

“But what if we can’t handle it?”

“We will.”

“But what if –“

“We _will._ Because we’re a Pack. And we’ll protect each other. You don’t have to take on all the responsibility yourself, Derek. That’s why you have friends. That’s why you have me.”

Looking up again, Derek stared into Stiles’ eyes, wavering between wanting to believe Stiles and being too scared to take a chance. After a few seconds, his expression changed from indecision to determination and the werewolf lunged towards Stiles and, grabbing his shoulders, pulled him into a kiss. It took Stiles a second to shake himself out of his shock and respond, but after a moment he slid his arms up Derek’s sides, locking one hand in Derek’s hair and one at the base of his neck. Opening his mouth, Stiles kissed him back, trying to get across everything he had left unspoken in that single kiss.

“Okay. I’ll stay,” Derek whispered once they had broken apart a few seconds later.

Stiles just grinned and pulled him down for another kiss.

-

Exiting the building, Stiles could barely make out his dad sitting in the front seat doing something on his phone. Noticing Stiles, he gave a small wave as Stiles went around to the passenger side and got in the car.

“Well? How’d it go?” His dad asked the second the car door was open.

“Good. We were able to work out our issues and he’s agreed to stay.”

“So that’s it? He’s not going to make a run for it in the middle of the night?”

“No. He’s finally realized that everything he needs is right here,” Stiles replied, feeling happier than he had in a long time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek and Stiles go to Poland to celebrate Stiles' grandparent's 50th anniversary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is based 3 years in the future. And it's so fluffy. Like, I almost cried every time I edited this.

“I still don’t understand why your family invited me to come,” Derek said as he and Stiles waited for their suitcase. “I mean your dad still acts like he doesn’t approve of me and I haven’t met your grandparents before.”

“Yeah but he does that cause he thinks it’s funny and he enjoys knowing you’re too scared of him to ever hurt me,” Stiles explained for the fourth time in as many hours. “He knows you never would though, so I don’t know why he keeps it up. Grab that bag, I think it ours.”

Checking the tag as Derek hauled the bag off the carousel, Stiles fist-pumped the air. “Yes! Gotta love it when your bag’s one of the first off! Now let’s go get a cab.”

Walking through the last of the security, Stiles and Derek exited the airport terminal.

“Okay but what about the rest of them? I’ve never met your grandparents, why would they want me to come?” Derek repeated as Stiles hailed a cab.

“For that reason. You’re important to me and so they want to meet you.”

Loading the suitcase into the trunk, they got in and Stiles gave the driver directions to his grandparent’s house.

“But what if I fuck up? What if they don’t like me?” Derek asked as they pulled out from the curb.

“You won over my dad, Derek. And I love you. I really don’t care what the rest of them think. But I promise, they’ll love you. Now stop worrying, you’re starting to make me nervous. Focus on the rest of the trip,” Stiles said, smiling at Derek who managed to return the expression.

Derek leaned back in his seat and stared out the window, trying to calm his nerves, which wasn’t easy since he was meeting Stiles’ grandparents soon. It was his maternal grandparents’ 50th anniversary and, although the celebration was only lasting the weekend, they had invited their relatives in North America to stay for a week, including John, Stiles, and by extension Derek, plus John’s brother-in-law and his family from Vancouver whom Derek had thankfully met before. After that John had to go back to work but Derek and Stiles had decided to stay behind and travel through Europe for another month.

Derek took a deep breath, focusing on the thought of having Stiles all to himself for a month to calm down.

Derek jumped, feeling Stiles take his hand in his own and give it a small squeeze, silently offering his support. Derek felt a lump form in his throat as he squeezed Stiles’ hand back to show his gratitude. He still didn’t know how he had gotten such an amazing person to fall for him. After such terrible luck in the dating department, he had been ready to give up on love altogether until Stiles had literally forced his way into Derek’s loft and made him confront his fear and his feelings. The first few months of their relationship had been rocky, what with Stiles still healing from his ordeal with the Alphas and suffering through nightmares most nights and Derek being ready to bolt the second things got bad. But over time the nightmares had become fewer and further between and Derek had finally accepted that he could be happy without it ending in complete disaster (even if it started that way). And now here he was three years later, about to meet his boyfriend’s family.

“We’re here,” Stiles said a few minutes later, pulling Derek out of his thoughts. “You ready?”

“It can’t be worse than facing down a kanima, can it?” Derek responded, making Stiles laugh in response.

Paying the cabbie, they got out, grabbed their suitcase and carry-ons and headed up the path to the front door. Kissing Derek quickly, Stiles gave his hand another quick squeeze before knocking on the door and opening it.

“Hello? Anyone here?”

There was the sound of feet pattering around upstairs and then a kid about ten came clumping down the stairs followed by a man a few years younger than John.

“Stiles! You’re here!” The kid shouted, running full-force at his cousin and enveloping his waist in a hug.

“Hey Jacob! Jeez, you’re so big! I think you’re about ready to start driving,” Stiles said, returning the hug.

“Don’t give him any ideas,” Jacob’s father said, giving Stiles a hug as well. “Good to see you again, Stiles.”

“Good to see you too, Uncle Norbert. You remember my boyfriend, Derek?” Stiles asked, releasing his uncle and turning to where Derek was awkwardly hugging Jacob, who’d wrapped himself around Derek.

“How could I forget after those incredible Nanaimo bars he made at Christmas. Good to see you again Derek,” he said, shaking the werewolf’s hand as he blushed at the praise. “Sorry about my son, he’s going through an affectionate phase. We’ve gotten some interesting comments when we go to the park.”

“It’s not a problem sir.”

“Please, call me Norbert.”

“It’s not a problem, Norbert.”

“Okay, well if you change your mind, just tell him. We’ve spoken about this before so he’ll listen.”

“Will do.”

“Can I get either of you something to drink or eat? Or do you want to shower first?” Norbert asked, leading them into the kitchen, Derek walking with Jacob standing on his feet and clinging to his leg.

Can I get some water,” Stiles replied, taking a seat at the island.

“I’ll have the same, please,” Derek said, prying Jacob off of him and placing him on the stool between Stiles and himself.

“So where’s everyone else?” Stiles asked as Norbert came over with two glasses.

“Your father took mom and dad to lunch. They weren’t expecting you here for another half hour.”

“Yeah, our flight made good time. Is aunt Jess not coming then?”

“She had to work this weekend and she’s getting in tomorrow. How was school? Your father said you had an exam on Friday?”

“School was good. I think I did well in my classes and I enjoyed most of them. And yeah, I had forensic psychology on Friday, that’s why we came late. Dad wanted to stay and fly out with us but I managed to convince him to go early and enjoy the whole week since he’d already taken the time off.”

“Well good job to you. That man can be so stubborn when he wants to be. But how are you doing, Derek? You’re in school to become a police officer, right?”

“Yeah, I’m in criminology. But I’m still not completely sure if that’s what I want to do. I’m wavering between that and crime scene analyst. But I still have some time to figure that out.”

“Well if you decide to go into law enforcement, at least you’ll have a way in.”

“That’s exactly my thoughts,” Derek replied, smiling.

“Okay well I’m ready to have a shower and be clean again. And we definitely need you looking more presentable before everyone gets home,” Stiles said, poking Derek in the chest and laughing when Derek smacked him in response.

Okay, I’ll show you to your room then. You’re in the basement,” Norbert said, pushing off from where he’d been leaning against the island. Once Derek and Stiles had returned with their suitcase, Norbert led the way through the kitchen and down a flight of stairs at the back of the house into the basement.

“Mom and dad thought you might appreciate having some privacy. John was of course against it,” Norbert said, laughing at Stiles and Derek’s embarrassed expressions. “Here it is.”

Opening a door off the main room, Norbert showed them a small guest room that was furnished with a queen-sized bed along the opposite wall under the window, a small nightstand beside it, a dresser along the left wall with a mirror above it, and a closet door in the right wall.

“There’s a shower in the bathroom down here as well as upstairs so you can shower at the same time without causing a scandal.”

“Cause that’s more of a scandal than sharing a bed?”

“Well that depends on what you do in the bed. But you really don’t need to cause your grandparents a heart attack only a week before their fiftieth anniversary. Now grab some clean clothes and I’ll show you where the upstairs bathroom is,” Norbert responded and, once Stiles was ready, went upstairs with him, leaving Derek to shower alone.

-

Derek was getting redressed after his shower when he heard voices upstairs followed by footsteps on the stairs and Stiles entered their room, his towel slung over his shoulder and his hair still wet.

Coming to a halt, Stiles was about to say something when he stopped and, cocking his head to one side, stared at Derek.

“What? Did I miss a patch of shampoo or something?” He asked, pulling on his pants.

“No, your ass is just so gorgeous.”

“We aren’t doing this in your grandparents’ house, Stiles,” Derek replied, rolling his eyes.

“We’ll see about that. Anyways, everyone’s back and very excited to meet you.”

“Great. How do I look?” Derek asked, spreading his arms for Stiles to admire him.

“Perfect,” Stiles replied, grabbing Derek’s hand, kissing him quickly, and dragging him out of the room, hanging his towel on the doorknob on their way up.

“Nana? Grandpa?” Stiles said as they entered the kitchen, addressing the two people sitting at the island. “This is my boyfriend, Derek.”

“It’s very nice to meet you both,” Derek said, coming forward and shaking their hands. “Thank you for inviting me to stay with you this week.”

“It’s our pleasure, Derek. My name is Artur and this is my wife Amelia,” Artur replied in a thick Polish accent.

Taking Derek’s hand, Amelia said, “We have been so excited to meet you. We have heard so much about you.”

“Only good things I hope,” Derek replied, smiling at her as he let go of her hand.

Laughing, Amelia turned to Stiles and said something to him in Polish with a wink.

“Don’t tease the poor boy,” Artur said as Stiles turned beat red. Derek raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend, who just shook his head and mouthed, “you don’t wanna know” back.

“I thought I heard voices,” John said, appearing in the doorway followed by Norbert and Jacob. “Hey boys. Norbert told me your flight got in early. You’re lucky, mine was delayed an extra hour and a half.”

“And you probably spent all that time sleeping,” Stiles teased, hugging his father.

“Yeah well judging by how you look, I’d say you two didn’t sleep at all,” John replied, releasing Stiles and shaking Derek’s hand.

“That’s what happens when you’re stuck beside someone with ADHD who’s jacked up on caffeine. Thank God there was no one beside us for him to disturb,” Derek said, laughing when Stiles stuck his tongue out at him.

“Yeah, why do you think I don’t bring him anywhere?”

“Not fair, you guys can’t gang up on me! Uncle Norbert, help me out here.”

“I think I’m gonna side with them, Stiles. You can’t even sit still during commercials. I can’t imagine what you’d be like on an thirteen hour flight.”

“Sorry son, looks like you’re outnumbered. Now, why don’t you two go have a nap and we’ll wake you up in a bit for dinner.”

“Yeah that sounds good. See you guys in a bit!” Stiles before grabbing Derek’s hand and heading downstairs.

“And no funny business!” John shouted after them.

“No promises!” Stiles called back, making Derek roll his eyes at him.

“God, why does my family have to be so embarrassing?” Stiles grumbled once they were in the safety of their room.

“Your grandparents seemed fine.”

“My grandmother asked me if you’re any good in bed.”

“Oh. Well they seemed nice anyway.”

“Yeah, they’re great, just wildly inappropriate. Now come on, let’s put some of this stuff away then we can sleep.”

Grabbing an armful of clothes, Derek moved over to the dresser to put them away while Stiles brought their toiletries into the bathroom.

Opening the top drawer, Derek froze, staring at what was inside.

“Stiles?”

“Yeah?” Stiles responded, coming back into the room. “What’s up?”

Derek just turned and showed his boyfriend what was in his hand. Stiles stared at the condom in Derek’s hand then looked up to meet his eyes.

“There are more,” Derek said, gesturing towards the dresser.

They both stood there, staring at each other for a few more seconds before they broke out into laughter, falling onto the bed in their amusement.

“Well at least my grandparents are okay with it,” Stiles said as he got himself back under control.

“It’s still not happening,” Derek replied, pushing everything else off the bed and turning off the light. Sitting back on the bed, he gave Stiles a kiss (and pushed him off when he went looking for more), and lay down, pulling Stiles with him.

-

The next few days passed quickly, and Derek and Stiles had their hands full with seeing the city, meeting Stiles’ many relatives, and getting over jetlag (which was not easy to do when you’re a hypersensitive werewolf in the same house as a ten-year-old).

Before they knew it, it was Friday and the last of Artur and Amelia’s friends and relatives would be arriving soon for the celebration this evening.

“Derek’s a good kid. You did well,” Amelia said to Stiles as he helped her unpack the party dishes.

“Yeah, he’s alright. I guess I’ll keep him around.”

Amelia laughed, giving Stiles a playful wink. “You had better or I’m going after him.”

“Honestly, I think grandpa would have more luck. Derek bats for the other team.”

“That’s too bad. But I don’t understand. Why aren’t you two engaged yet?”

“I have been wondering that too,” Artur said, walking into the kitchen with a box of cutlery. “You’re so good together.”

“Is Derek still out with my dad?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Because I don’t want to ruin the surprise. I’m planning on proposing this trip. We’re going to Paris in two weeks and I’m going to do it there.”

“Oh, Stiles! Do you have a ring?”

“Yeah, my dad gave me his old wedding ring and helped me get it sized.”

“Oh that’s wonderful!” Artur exclaimed, smiling at Stiles.

“You should do it tonight,” Amelia said excitedly, smiling as well.

“What? But I don’t want to take the spotlight! This is your night, nana!”

“We’ve had forty-nine anniversaries, we don’t need another one. But to see our oldest grandchild get engaged would make us so happy.” Amelia said, waving aside Stiles’ excuses.

“I agree. It can be your anniversary present to us,” Artur added.

“What makes you think I don’t have a present for you already?”

“There’s nothing wrong with giving us two presents, you know,” Amelia replied with a chuckle.

“Alright. I’ll propose to Derek tonight.”

“Oh that’s excellent! Now get the dishcloth and wipe all these plates. I’m going to go lie down for a bit before tonight,” Amelia said before leaving Stiles and Artur to finish up.

-

“I’d like to thank you all for coming to celebrate such an exciting day with us. Fifty years ago, my incredible wife said ‘I do’ at the alter, and for the life of me I still can’t figure out why.” Pausing for the laughter from the small crowd of friends and family gathered in their backyard, Artur smiled and took his wife’s hand.

“But for some reason, she did. And now, all these years later, I can look back on my life with her and know it was a life well spent. Amelia, I love you now as much as I loved you when I knelt down and asked you to be my wife. You make me a stronger and better man, and your love has always guided me through the trials of my life. Here’s to my beautiful wife, without whom I never would have become the man I am today.” Raising his glass, Artur led them all in a toast, before he and his wife sat down again.

“One day we’ll have that,” Derek murmured against Stiles’ temple, giving him a gentle kiss and circling his arms around Stiles’ waist. “One day we’ll be celebrating our fiftieth. If I don’t dump you because of your snoring first.”

Stiles laughed, elbowing his boyfriend in the ribs playfully. “Like you would ever be able to score anyone as amazing as me again. You and I are in it for the long haul,” he replied, resting his head against Derek’s shoulder.

Derek hummed in agreement, making Stiles laugh again. Looking around for his grandparents, Stiles caught his grandmother’s eye, and she winked at him and whispered something to her husband. Nodding, Artur moved to the front of the crowd.

“Excuse me everyone. If you’ll give us a few more minutes of your time, our grandson has something he’d like to say.”

Pushing off Derek, Stiles kissed him and turned, walking over to Artur who went back to his wife.

“Hello everyone. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Stiles and my grandparents asked to say a few words.” Clearing his throat, Stiles took a second before starting his speech.

“Today we’re here to celebrate Artur and Amelia’s fiftieth anniversary. Some of you have only just met them, and you can already see how much the love each other and how much they mean to each other,” he started, looking at Derek who nodded encouragingly.

“I have been lucky enough to know them for years and to watch their love grow and flourish during that time. After my mom died, they came to the States to help my dad and I. Even at such a young age, I was struck by their strength not just in supporting us, but also in supporting each other. They give each other the strength to keep going. They are able to lean on each other when they need to and they are patient and kind with each other. This stems from their love and none of it would be possible without that. I do not believe I’m exaggerating when I say that their love has no equal. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.”

Looking at Derek again, Stiles slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small, flat box. Stiles could see shock cross his boyfriend’s face before he started grinning and nodded at Stiles again.

“Derek, these last three years have been the happiest of my admittedly short life. There are so many things for me to do and experience, but all of them would be meaningless if you aren’t there to experience them with me. Will you marry me?”

Controlling his expression, Derek walked forward. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him, no one saying a word as they as they waited for his answer. Even Stiles looked nervous as if he couldn’t figure it out. Reaching his boyfriend, Derek met his eyes before breaking out in a smile.

“Yes.”

Grinning, Stiles opened the box and pulled out the ring inside as the crowd applauded and Amelia began crying. Stiles slipped the ring on Derek’s finger before pulling him in for a kiss. This time it lasted more than just a few seconds and they only broke apart when someone wolf-whistled and they realized they were still being watched.

“I was going to propose to you when we went to Spain,” Derek whispered, making Stiles laugh.

“I was planning on proposing in Paris. I’m a sucker for a cliché. But my grandparents asked me to do it here so they could see,” Stiles responded.

“Glad to see the ring fits. I was worried it would still be too small,” John said, coming up to them and giving Stiles a hug. “I’m so proud of you kiddo. And you’re mom would be too.”

“You knew about this?” Derek asked, surprised. He had thought John would protest since Stiles was so young.

“Of course. Stiles told me back in February he was going to propose. He used my ring,” John responded, turning towards Derek.

“But are you okay with it? I know Stiles is still pretty young, but –“

“I couldn’t be more okay with it. I’ve known you two were meant to be together since I drove Stiles over to your place to stop you from leaving. Welcome to the family Derek,” John said, grabbing him in a hug and startling the werewolf.

“Well I’ll leave you two alone,” he said, releasing Derek and giving them one last smile before moving away to where his brother-in-law was standing with his wife.

“After this is over, I’ll get my ring for you, if you want to wear it now,” Derek said.

“Of course I do. How’d you manage to find time to buy a ring, though? We’re together all the time.”

“I didn’t buy it,” Derek replied. “It’s my father’s old wedding ring. I found it when I first went back to Beacon Hills.” Seeing Stiles’ shocked expression, Derek immediately felt his gut clench. “Oh god, that’s weird isn’t it? I should’ve bought you a new ring.”

“No, Derek! I’d be honoured to wear your father’s ring. I was just surprised it didn’t melt in the fire.”

“Oh,” Derek said, blushing. “Well it was a bit melted but I managed to get Scott to take it to a jeweler’s and get it fixed up, since I knew you’d probably notice if I did it.”

“Oh my god, Scott knew about me wanting to propose as well! I can’t believe he never said anything! He’s probably at home laughing at us now.”

“Who cares? I have you, and I don’t really care who proposed to who to make that happen.”

“Oh Stiles! We’re so happy for you!” Artur said as he and Amelia finally got away from their well-wishers and came over.

“Yeah, cause you two didn’t know,” Stiles teased as his grandmother enveloped him in a hug.

Giving Stiles a kiss on the cheek, she said, “what a beautiful speech! And a beautiful ring! You must be so happy!”

“Yeah, happiest day of my life,” Stiles responded, smiling at them.

“I can think of a happier one,” Derek said, thinking of their wedding day.

Stiles rolled his eyes at the werewolf. “The happiest day of my life so far then.”

Derek grinned, pulling Stiles in for another kiss. “I can live with that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did! My inbox is always open on tumblr (http://avengers-avenging-shit.tumblr.com/ask) and feel free to send me headcanons, prompts, or just come say hi. I also have some other Sterek works if you want to read them.


End file.
